Apparently I'm one step to the right of Mrs. T

Who Should you vote for

Who should I vote for?

Your actual outcome:

Labour -6
	Conservative 31
Liberal Democrat -22
	UK Independence Party 26
	Green 1

You should vote: Conservative

The Conservative Party is strongly against joining the Euro and against greater use of taxation to fund public services. The party broadly supported the Iraq war and backs greater policing and ID cards. The Tories are against increasing the minimum wage above the rate of inflation, and have committed to abolishing university tuition fees. They support 'virtual vouchers' for private education.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For

Well - that was a suprise for me, I thought I was broadly a leftie.

Table centre from above

As previously stated I'm not all that big on flowers, so I've gone for a candle as the table centre. I bought all the bits from Matalan, it roughly works out at about £5 per table.

Table centre 

Bridesmaid Dress - as modelled by the Manchester bridesmaid. 

Long time no speak!

Wow! I've been so busy recently I haven't had time to do my blog, so I'll be doing some catch-up posts over the next couple of nights.

My friends hen night was a brilliant laugh! There were 18 girls, all wearing bunny ears on the quayside in Newcastle. We stayed at the Jurys Inn, which was very rowdy as completely full of hens and stags but the rooms were very clean, and the breakfast was a lifesaver for the hungover. We didn't get very far on our pub crawl, started the night in the Quilted Camel, pretty good music and a good atmosphere. Then we finished the night across the river in Gateshead at the very cheesy Baja Beach Club . £6 in, but the booze wasn't too expensive.

Hen Nights..

No not mine.. though I really should get my arse in gear and organize it. This weekend I'm off to sunny geordieland for a friend's hen weekend. I'm really divided how I feel about these occasions though, I love the idea of getting to see people I haven't seen for ages (Creamfields about 4 years ago for one of them) but on the other hand my insecurity rampages around and I worry that I'm going to be left on the sidelines. I'm sure men on stag nights don't worry about these things.

A rose by any other name

I'm not a flowers person. I have been known to trill in fake delight "Oooh look dead things" when presented with flowers. So what was I going to do about my wedding bouquet?

I was inspired by an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Hell's Bells, the one with the Anya/Zander wedding) to have a crystal bouquet. These don't really seem to be available in the UK, or when they are, they are shockingly expensive. Through the power of google I found 2 useful websites.

• Wedding Day Originals . Pre-made bouquets and kits


• How to make a bead bouquet . A simple how to method with pictures.
  

I bought 2 large kits from Wedding Day Originals and for the past 3 weeks have been slowly working through the 320 stems that I need to make for my bouquet (160 stems) and the bridesmaids (80 stems each). I'm also planning on making buttonholes for the wedding party, but I am going to order smaller beads so that they don't weigh so much or look quite so imposing. Once I finish making up the stems and make them into the bouquet I'll post a picture.

Crisis Over!!!

The hotel has finally got back to me, and they have released a block of rooms! Hurrah!

*skips joyfully around room*

I feel like a huge weight has lifted off me.

However, the hotel has still cost themselves money as several guests have already opted to stay at a different (and significantly cheaper) location.

British Customer Service

The manager of the hotel (Whitworth Hall near Spennymoor, part of the Best Western Chain) seems to be trying to avoid my calls. The very charming lady on front desk has passed the information that the wedding co-ordinator Miranda has emailed the owner of the block booking to ask if they can release some rooms. Is it just me or is this really stupid? Just pick up the phone and ask! Email is the worst choice because
1. People ignore email
2. The majority of people do not read their email regularly.
3. You can't plead effectively over email.
4. It's asynchronous communication, so a simple discussion that takes 5 minutes can take 10 emails with days in between.

It just feels like a lazy way out for them.

*edit after finally getting through to the duty manager*

The duty manager was unable to progress things further, but he was able to provide the following information
1. The owner of the block booking has telephoned Miranda leaving her phone number, but without a status on the rooms.
2. He is willing to commit to providing me with a 'get ready' area on the morning of my wedding.
3. Miranda is not available until 3pm tomorrow, so no more progress until then.

A very affable chap, understood why I was very angry on the phone, and said 'I can imagine you thinking that if we mess this up that we'll mess up other things'

No shit sherlock!

No news is good news... Right?

Tried to speak to the hotel manager regarding the lack of available rooms, but unfortunately Monday is his day off. The lady on the front desk said that she was trying to 'beg' some rooms from the block booking that stole my hotel but as yet there hasn't been any progress.

So at the moment I'm in a kind of limbo, wondering if my wedding can go ahead in the form which I'd hoped for. *sigh*

Gadget of the moment

If I didn't have one already it would be on my wedding list. It's a two portion slow cooker from
Lakeland Limited. Make delicious stews, currys and chillis by putting the ingredients in the bowl and switching on for 8 hours. Fantastic to come home to an already cooked meal.

I'm just trying to distract myself from having to phone the manager of the hotel, I want to give the wedding co-ordinator chance to actually do her job.

Wedding Planning Checklist

Registrar booked - CHECK

Venue booked - CHECK

Bride's dress ordered - CHECK

Argument over guest list - CHECK

Hotel rooms booked for wedding party -AAAAAARRRRGGH

I thought it was all going so well. I'd finally fought the wedding invite list down to a manageable size and have bought my invites from WH Smith (cost conscious brides take note, they don't mention that they do packs of 'fill in the blanks' 8 invites for £3.99 on their website). I've printed RSVP cards and wrote the description of local accomodation and the costs for my hotel.

Then I speak to the 'wedding coordinator' at the hotel (Whitworth Hall), who kindly informs me that there are no rooms available in the hotel as they have accepted a block booking has completely filled it. Which is a problem. A complete feck up. My ceremony is at 11am, meaning that most of my guests will be travelling the day before, as the majority are based more than 150 miles from the hotel. There is nowhere the bridesmaids to get ready, nowhere for the best man to stay. When I address this with the wedding co-ordinator, she can't see the problem. Pretty much a contrast to the promises of the brochure where they promise a 'dedicated and helpful team'. The hotel does not allow for block bookings, unless you are with this special party who seem to get better privileges than someone willing to spend over £5000 with the hotel.

Right about now I'm ready to head for vegas as I'm seething with anger.

Hello

Despite being an internet geek, this is my first foray into the land of blogging..

I'm not sure my shaky grasp of grammar and my low attention span will make for great reading, but at least it's an outlet for my 'me! me! me!' moments.